The Hottest Rocks for Your Kitchen Countertops: Great Materials for Building Your Dream Counter!

Are you remodeling your kitchen? Or maybe you are building your new dream house. Either way, the kitchen is an integral part of the design of your home. The whole house literally revolves around the kitchen and what you do there, so it is important that your kitchen, and everything in it - including your countertops - is absolutely perfect.

The countertops in your kitchen are a crucial element. Here, you will prepare meals, wash vegetables, cut meat and do your dishes.

So what are some of the hottest materials for building that perfect countertop? Here are the top ten countertop rocks, and what they're good for:

1. Quartz Counters

Quartz is good for busy kitchens and it resists stain and withstands high heat temperatures well; great for busy cooks. It is also relatively cheap.

2. Granite Counters

Granite, that great, old and reliable stone! Granite is a good countertop material because it holds up well under heat, doesn't scratch easily (it is, after all, rock) and - when sealed properly - does well against stains.

3. Laminate Counters

Laminate is cheap, but don't let that scare you off. You can get laminate in different finishes that mimic natural stones, and its pretty easy to install. Its low price point makes it great for people on a budget, and you can get some pretty fancy designs. Just watch out for mildew, which can find laminate a great growing ground.

4. Stainless Steel Counters

This is the counter of choice for professional kitchens. Walk into any commercial kitchen, such as one at a restaurant, and you'll be greeted with gleaming, silver-looking counters. Stainless steel counters have their advantages: They are stainless, as the name implies, and do well with heat (although watch out: They can heat up pretty hot because metal conducts heat!). Stainless steel counters are also easy to clean and disinfect.

5. Solid Counters

These artificial materials can look and feel like quartz or natural stone, but are much cheaper; but not as cheap as laminate counters.

6. Marble Counters

Marble is a luxurious material, the sort that you'd find in counters in fancy hotel rooms. They're beautiful and classy, and also very expensive. But you get what you pay for: Marble offers a lot of designs, different vein styles and a boggling array of natural color hues.

7. Ceramic Tile Counters

A lot of ceramic tile patterns and colors make this a great choice for people who want to control the look and design of their counters. Its also pretty easy to clean, and ceramic holds up well under heat.

8. Concrete Counters

Concrete may not be the first thing that comes to mind when building a countertop, but concrete is a great modern building material. When you think concrete, you might envision boring, drab white hues; however, concrete can be dyed a variety of colors to match your house.

9. Limestone Counters

Limestone gives you that natural stone look without the veining found in other stones, such as marble. It is also a bit cheaper than marble.

10. Butcher Block

This is a very practical countertop material. It's also cheap and fast to install.

Enjoy your new counters!